Sustainability & Climate Change
Food production needs are expected to roughly double over the next 35 years as the world population grows and people in under developed countries become more affluent and demand more calories. Healthy ecosystems are vital to the survival of all organisms. How can we grow crops without harming the environment? How can we balance technology and global food security? What is the right balance of organic and conventional farming? What role can genetics and biotechnology play without compromising the needs of tomorrow?
Below is the complete archive of related articles sorted by date.
GMO microbes that eat pollution? How biotechnology can sustainably cleanse our water
Limiting PFAS in wastewater will be a challenge. After all, these substances do not break down in the environment. At ...
Positively disruptive technology: Argentina debates the mostly pros and few cons of genetically modified crops
Drought has hit the economies of South America and has ruinous consequences for agricultural production. A possible solution to such losses – ...
Higher prices for meat, milk and eggs? Increased greenhouse gas emissions? Study documents sustainability drawbacks of non-GMO animal feed
Continued demand for non-GMO feed for livestock will increase greenhouse gas emissions on farms, and raise consumer prices for meat, ...
Viewpoint: ‘Pesticide choice should be about what works and what doesn’t’ — Challenging claims that organics are superior because they use ‘natural’ chemicals
Witness organics. Despite little evidence of its supposed merits, devotees will steadfastly defend their “team.” It’s widely touted in marketing ...
Brazil doubles production of insect-resistant GMO sugarcane over past year with new variety for poor soil in the wings
Brazilian farmers are set to nearly double the area planted with transgenic sugarcane in the season starting this month, the ...
What are acetogens? And how could synthetic biology turn oil, coal and other fossil fuels into green, carbon-negative chemicals?
When most people hear about oil, as in petroleum, they think of what gets refined to produce gasoline. But it’s ...
Viewpoint: A science-backed case in support of organic farming
Conventional or intensive farming and gardening is dominated by monocultures – fields of crop plants and nothing else. These are ...
Malawi farmers claim 100% yield boost using insect-resistant Bt cotton
The National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) says Bt cotton – a genetically modified variety – has improved farmers’ ...
Academic study: EU’s Farm-to-Fork would lead to higher prices and lower production
The [Farm to Fork, or] F2F strategy, as part of the [European Green Deal, or] EGD, reduces the production of ...
Giraffe meat? Bengal tiger burgers? Start-up using cell cultures to create exotic new tastes without harming animals
Cultivated meat companies most frequently focus on the largest meat categories- beef, chicken and pork. However, Primeval Foods has stepped ...
With Ukraine’s corn crop endangered by war, European farmers turn to GMO feed
European farmers are set to buy more genetically modified animal feed from the U.S. and South America after Russia’s invasion ...
Mushroom handbags? Synthetic biology is expanding into the fashion industry
The fashion industry’s expectations are particularly high. “Nobody is willing to sacrifice quality and performance for sustainability,” says Matt Scullin, ...
How sustainable is North American soybean production?
In the past 50 years or so, the cultivation of soybeans has grown tenfold, with the UN’s Food and Agriculture ...
GMO soil fungi: One way genetically modified barley might help reduce the need for fertilizers
A field trial of genetically modified and gene-edited barley is due to be planted this April. The research is evaluating ...
Viewpoint: Reversing the Green Revolution — Why Europe’s ‘Farm to Fork’ policy will increase hunger
After destroying European energy independence, environmentalists are now focusing on their next goal: the destruction of your supermarket. This is ...
Viewpoint: ‘Organic’? ‘Regenerative’? On labels they are little more than buzzwords. Here’s why
Natural, sustainable, organic: yesterday’s news. When it comes to virtuous eating, “regenerative” is the buzzword du jour. But what, exactly, ...
Will plant based meat alternatives curb the greenhouse gas impact of animal agriculture? This independent study concludes consumers are key
New plant-based meat (PBM) alternatives that aim to mimic the taste and texture of beef could have significant economic, environmental, ...
How gene editing could create carbon-sucking trees to help address the climate crisis
Of all the potential fixes for the climate crisis, none has captured hearts and minds quite like tree planting. It’s ...
Is there a better way to make cell-based meat? Maybe the tobacco plant can help
FoodTech start-up, BioBetter, has assigned a new role for the much-maligned Nicotiana tabacum plant upon discovering it can overcome the greatest hurdle ...
‘Now they’re here’: Genetically engineered mosquitoes could help control dangerous spread of disease-carrying Aedes aegypti
Anthony James, who researches disease-spreading insects, never encountered the aggressive mosquito species, Aedes aegypti, when he grew up in Southern California ...
Viewpoint: Here are cutting edge ways technology can help us increase farm outputs without using more land
The world has plenty of nutrients. They circulate between air, soil, sea, living plants and animals. Neither population growth nor meat meals ...
Modified: Destigmatizing GMOs one bite at a time
“GMOs have been unfairly stigmatized, haven’t they?” Thus spoke a man in his 30s, a sympathetic expression on his face, ...
Edible kelp: The next big thing in high-end cuisine?
The global population is growing, with an associated increase in the need for food, while arable land is in short ...
Following in Kenya’s footsteps: Behind Ghana’s quest to get GMO cassava approved–the country’s first genetically engineered crop
The most recently approved GM crop on the continent is the GM cassava, which Kenya has successfully greenlighted. This becomes the ...
Why Africa needs access to both traditional agricultural tools and cutting-edge biotechnology innovations
As an agricultural and environmental scientist, I’ve worked for decades exploring the practical challenges that smallholder farmers encounter in East Africa ...
Despite controversy and rising prices, farmers in Pennsylvania Amish country recommit to using glyphosate for no-till, reduced carbon-release farming
Sharp price increases for glyphosate and other chemicals, not to mention fears over shortages, will likely mean drastically higher input costs this ...
Viewpoint: Gene editing crops is the very definition of ‘green technology’
One thing we have learnt from the GMO debate is that if you simply add layers of regulatory checks and ...
